Like so many driven women (and I am sure many of you) I am my own worst enemy. I have a terrible habit of dwelling on my short comings and punishing myself for my failures rather than celebrating my success and congratulating myself for my achievements.

Here are a list of things I punish myself for:
- Getting overweight in the first place
- Not enjoying exercise
- Denying the extent of the problem for years
- Having a slip or two in the last month
- Getting the bus this morning (rather than walking) because I was late for work
- Just generally being rubbish!

Here is a list of things I should be celebrating (re weight loss!):
- I can now feel my hips with ease
- I can move my arm up and down directly in front of me without encountering a rouge breast!!
- I can fit into a dress I haven't worn in years
- Day after day after day I succeed in calorie counting and exercising
- I have incredible will power and can do anything i set my mind to.

What about you guys? What are you punishing yourself for and what should you be celebrating? We HAVE to be nicer to ourselves!

I hear ya! I often think to myself, I don't deserve to lose this weight. Stupid, I know. Lately, I've gotten to the point of talking to myself out loud (when I get in the car and no one can hear me ) and saying, "Doggone-it, Ashley, you ARE worth it!"
It's amazing what lies we tell ourselves and how critical we are of ourselves. I wonder if it gets easier to accept us as we are when we reach our goals. Whatever the case, you're right. We need to love ourselves. And, today, though I've not reached my goal weight, I'm proud of myself for:

-wearing a cute sweater that was too small previously.
-avoiding all of the food samples at the local grocer's re-opening celebration this morning.
-packing my healthy lunch last night so there were no excuses this morning to take junk to work.
*and*
-not having a defeatist attitude this morning

That internal dialogue gets us everytime! Here is my list:

Here are a list of things I punish myself for:
- Getting overweight in the first place...ME TOO
- Not enjoying exercise....ME TOO
- Denying the extent of the problem for years.....ME TOO
- Getting breast cancer a yr and a half ago because I am overweight and not healthy
- Surviving breast cancer, when others who are more "worthy" don't
- Losing my job

Here is what I should be celebrating:
- My children who love me
- Still here after breast cancer
- Having a great husband who took care of me while I was sick, and still loves me w/mangled boobs AND being overweight when he is not.
- Down 6 pounds
- Been doing WII Fit 4 days in a row
- Watching my points
- This web site

This is a new year and this is OUR YEAR!

My inner running monologue gets me everytime, I'm a perfectionist and an overachiever. It helps greatly in school, but I am too harsh on myself. I expect crazy results with weight loss even though I know slow and steady is best.

I absolutely love this. Because darn it it all we are worth it. Every last one of us deserves to be happy and healthy. It was like a huge moment for me, that after hearing it forever, it finally got through my thick skull.

List of Stuff I Punish Myself for:
Not exercising enough
Being overweight in the first place
Denying when I slip up

Stuff I'm very proud of:
I record my calories everyday
I exercise everyday
My boyfriend who loves me as I am
I juggle school, grad work, and internship and still maintain a 4.00
I am learning how to discern actual hunger from snacky hunger

I punished myself for:
Gaining the weight in the first place
Letting myself go
Giving up on myself
Living in denial

Stuff I'm proud of:
A couple of months ago, I FORGAVE myself all the above. Talk about LIBERATING.
Plus, I've been on plan now for over 6 months. This is the longest I've stuck to anything, and it is working, but sometimes slow-going. I now know that diets don't work.
That I discovered 3FC!!!
Being active and moving every day! I feel so powerful right now...

I wear glasses. Every single morning I have to say to myself "You DESERVE to wear clean glasses", or I won't clean them before heading out the door in the morning. Isn't that silly?

Same thing is true about weight loss. "You DESERVE to eat healthy and to exercise". What I don't deserve is to be a closet junk food eater. A step forward every day is a step toward my goals--not just weight loss but stronger too.